Coin mechanism

ABSTRACT

A coin mechanism comprising testing devices for testing coins as to their acceptability, a substantially upright coin store or tube adapted to contain a plurality of acceptable coins of a particular denomination up to a predetermined upper level, and a coin dispenser for dispensing coins from the lower end of the store. The coin store is provided with a coin inlet located below the predetermined upper level, and devices for delivering acceptable coins of the denomination from the testing devices through the inlet into the store. This enables the coin store to be pre-loaded to the upper level and, when its contents have been partly dispensed, to be refilled from the coin tester, through the coin inlet at the lower level.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to coin mechanisms.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The term "coin" when used herein includes genuine coins, tokens,counterfeit coins and any other objects which may be inserted into acoin mechanism in an attempt to obtain any kind of goods or services.

Coin mechanisms are well known, which test coins as to theiracceptability and, if acceptable, indicate their denomination, and whichin respect of at least some of the acceptable denominations, direct themto respective coin stores, these usually being in the form of cointubes, which may have different diameters depending upon the particularcoin denomination each is intended to contain, and which are adapted tohold the coins in a vertical stack face-to-face. A coin dispensingarrangement is provided for dispensing appropriate combinations of coinsfrom the bottoms of the stacks for the purpose of giving change orproviding prizes. Additionally, there is usually a cashbox to which aredirected coins which it is not intended to dispense either as change oras prizes, and also coins which might normally be directed to specificcoin stores but which are accepted when the particular coin store inquestion is already full.

Coin mechanisms of this general type are well known and widely sold.

It is also known that there are some situations in which a particularcoin denomination will need to be dispensed, in change or as a prize,sufficiently often that the coin store for that denomination is likelyto become exhausted more frequently than is desirable. In an attempt toreduce the resulting problems, some coin mechanisms have been adapted tobe equipped with an "auxiliary" coin tube which is individuallymountable to, and demountable from, the coin mechanism manually withoutthe use of tools. The auxiliary coin tube is pre-loaded manually withcoins of the frequently-used denomination and mounted to the coinmechanism. There are then available for dispensing whatever coins may bealready in, or delivered to, the main coin tube for that denomination,plus the quantity of coins of that denomination contained in theauxiliary tube. Over a period of time, nevertheless, it is still likelythat the supply of coins of that denomination will become exhausted inwhich case the auxiliary tube will need to be manually replenished orreplaced by a new one pre-loaded with a further supply of thefrequently-used denomination of coin. To minimise the frequency withwhich the auxiliary coin tube has to be manually replenished orexchanged for a new, full, one it is desired for its capacity to be asgreat as possible, that is to say for its height also to be as great aspossible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to reduce the frequency with whicha large-capacity coin store has to be manually replenished or replacedwith a pre-loaded new one.

The invention provides a coin mechanism comprising testing means fortesting coins as to their acceptability, a substantially upright coinstore adapted to contain a plurality of acceptable coins of a particulardenomination up to an upper level, and a coin dispenser for dispensingcoins from the lower end of the store, characterised in that said coinstore is provided with a coin inlet located below said upper level, andin that means is provided for delivering acceptable coins of saiddenomination from the testing means through said inlet into the store.

The fact that coins can be delivered into the store at a level lowerthan the predetermined upper level for stored coins means that theheight, and therefore the capacity, of the coin store can be as great asis permissible within whatever space is available yet, at the same time,the store can also be replenished through the inlet, which can bepositioned at a level at or below that to which coins can be deliveredafter having passed by gravity through the testing means and a coinseparator which normally will be present for the purpose of separatingdifferent denominations of accepted coins and routing them toappropriate different destinations.

It is to be expected that the number of coins of the frequently-useddenomination that can be delivered to the coin store in this way will besufficient that it will not become exhausted for a substantially longerperiod than would otherwise be the case and hence manual replenishmentof the coin store, or its replacement by a new pre-loaded one, will needto be done less frequently.

From a still further aspect of the invention, there is provided a methodof providing a coin mechanism, which includes coin testing means, withcoins of a particular denomination for being dispensed from themechanism, comprising adding to the mechanism a substantially uprightcoin store pre-loaded to a predetermined level with such coins,accepting further coins of said denomination into the mechanism throughsaid coin testing means, dispensing coins from said coin store, and whenits contents are below a lower level, directing into the coin store atsaid lower level accepted coins of said denomination.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood an embodimentthereof will now be described with reference to the accompanyingdiagrammatic drawing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The FIGURE is side view of the internal configuration of a coinmechanism in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the drawing, a coin mechanism 2 comprises coin testing means 4 havingan inlet 6 for coins 8 to be tested. A microprocessor 10 isschematically illustrated, which normally will form part of the testingmeans. Microprocessor 10 compares measurements which are taken on thecoin by the testing means with reference values appropriate to variousdifferent denominations of acceptable coins. When the comparisonindicates that the coin inserted is acceptable the microprocessorprovides a signal which causes power application to the actuator,normally a solenoid, of an accept/reject gate 12 which moves to aposition such that the coin is delivered into a coin separator 14. Ifthe coin is not found acceptable, the actuator of the accept/reject gateis not powered and so remains in a reject position such that the cointakes a path (not shown) back to the exterior of the mechanism where thecustomer can retrieve it.

When a coin is acceptable, the microprocessor 10 also provides a signal,on output lines 16, indicative of the denomination of the coin. Cointubes 18, 20 and 22 are provided each of which is intended in normaloperation to receive accepted coins of a particular respectivedenomination.

The coin separator 14 is actuated in response to the coin denominationas indicated by the output signal on line 16, so as to direct the coin,in dependence upon its denomination, towards the correct one of thetubes 18, 20 and 22 on one of the paths generally indicated by thearrows 24, if necessary via a suitable manifold. Actuation of theseparator may consist of energising the appropriate ones of a pluralityof solenoids which control the configuration of a set of gates, or theappropriate positioning of a motor which in turn positions a coin guideto direct a coin through the appropriate one of several outlets of theseparator.

When there is a requirement for change to be given, or for a prize to bepaid out, a dispensing unit 26 is operated in well-known manner todispense to the customer the appropriate coin or combination of coinsfrom the bottoms of the coin stacks in tubes 18, 20 and 22, operation ofthe dispensing unit also being controlled by the microprocessor 10.

The principles of operation and construction of the mechanism as justdescribed are all known to the man skilled in the art and thereforefurther detailed description is not required.

As has previously been mentioned, there will be certain circumstances inwhich a particular coin denomination, for example that contained in cointube 22, needs to be dispensed particularly frequently. To maximise thesupply of coins of this denomination in the mechanism, an auxiliary cointube 28 is provided which, outside the mechanism, can be pre-loaded withcoins of that particular denomination to an upper level 30.

Thus pre-loaded, the auxiliary coin tube 28 is individually mounted tothe coin mechanism manually, the mounting arrangements being of anysimple type not requiring the use of tools, such as snap-in or push-infittings, so that mounting, and at a later time demounting, of theauxiliary coin tube can be done quickly and easily. For dispensing fromthe bottom of the auxiliary coin tube, the coin mechanism is fitted withan additional separate dispenser section 32.

It can be seen from the drawing that auxiliary coin tube 28 extends forvirtually the whole of the available height within the coin mechanismand hence its capacity is maximised.

When there is a requirement to dispense one or more coins of thedenomination contained in tubes 22 and 28, such dispensing may be donefrom tube 22 provided it contains sufficient coins for the purpose. Aconventional detector may be used to detect that there are coins in tube22 and inform microprocessor 10 accordingly, so that microprocessor 10can instruct the dispensing of one or more coins from that tube.Microprocessor 10 may be programmed such that in the event that a lackof coins in tube 22 is indicated, it instead causes actuation ofdispenser section 32 so as to dispense the necessary coins fromauxiliary tube 28. Associated with auxiliary coin tube 28, at level 34,there is a coin-level sensor of generally known kind which comprises alight source and a light detector together indicated at 36 on one sideof the tube, respective apertures 38 on opposite sides of the tube, anda reflecting arrangement 40. A light beam passes from the light sourcethrough the first aperture, across the tube, through the secondaperture, is reflected by the reflector 40 and returns along the same ora similar path through the apertures to the detector.

So long as auxiliary tube 28 contains coins to above the level 34 thelight beam will be interrupted and this is indicated to themicroprocessor 10 on an output line 42. Microprocessor 10 is programmedsuch that in this situation it will cause the separator 14 to directcoins of the denomination contained in tubes 22 and 28 always to tube 22or, if that happens to be full, to a cashbox.

However, when the coin level detector associated with tube 28 does nothave its beam broken, indicating that the coin level is below level 34,this is indicated to microprocessor 10 over line 42 and themicroprocessor is programmed such that in that situation it will causeseparator 14 to direct accepted coins of the denomination contained intubes 22 and 28 through an additional exit shown as a chute 44 whichdelivers them to an angled slot 46 forming an inlet to auxiliary tube 28located just above level 34. Since in this situation the existing coinlevel is below level 34 the coins in tube 28 will not obstruct theintroduction of a further coin through entry 46. If the existing levelwere higher, there is a possibility that this would happen and that ajam would be caused in tube 28, but this avoided by the coin leveldetector once again inhibiting delivery of coins to tube 28 in responseto detecting the increased coin level in tube 28.

Instead of the stored coin level being sensed directly, it may bededuced by measuring when the coins are at a reference level, countingincoming & outgoing coins, and using the difference as an indicator ofthe present level relative to the reference level, this being a knowntechnique.

It will be appreciated that the auxiliary coin tube 28 might be utilisedsimply to enable the basic mechanism to accept, store and dispense anextra, in this case a fourth, denomination of coin.

Although the invention has been described, with reference to theembodiment, in relation to coin tubes, it is not essential that the coinstore or stores should be of tubular form. The invention would beapplicable to any type of coin store which operates in an uprightposition and in which the remaining stored coins move downwards as coinsare dispensed from the store, as for example in GB-A-2229306.

We claim:
 1. A coin mechanism comprising testing means for testing coinsas to their acceptability, a substantially upright coin store adapted tocontain a plurality of acceptable coins of a particular denomination upto an upper level, and a coin dispenser for dispensing coins from thelower end of the store, characterised in that said coin store isprovided with a coin inlet located below said upper level, and means isprovided for delivering acceptable coins of said denomination from thetesting means through said inlet into the store.
 2. A coin mechanism asclaimed in claim 1 characterised by means for preventing the deliveringmeans from delivering coins to said store when the stored coins are upto a predetermined level below said inlet.
 3. A coin mechanism asclaimed in claim 2 wherein said means for preventing includes a coinlevel sensor located below said inlet.
 4. A coin mechanism as claimed inclaim 1 wherein the coin store is adapted to contain the stored coins ina column stacked face-to-face.
 5. A coin mechanism as claimed in claim 4wherein the coin store is a coin tube.
 6. A coin mechanism as claimed inclaim 1 which includes one or more further coin stores, and at least oneof them is adapted to contain a plurality of coins of the samedenomination as the first mentioned coin store.
 7. A coin mechanism asclaimed in claim 6 wherein the first-mentioned coin store isindividually mountable to, and demountable from, the coin mechanism. 8.A coin mechanism as claimed in claim 7 wherein the first-mentioned coinstore is so mountable and demountable manually without the use of tools.9. A coin mechanism as claimed in claim 6 wherein the first mentionedcoin store is filled with coins to said upper level.
 10. A coinmechanism as claimed in claim 1 comprising a coin separator forseparating accepted coins of different denominations and wherein saidupper level is at a higher level than the lower end of the coinseparator.
 11. A method of providing a coin mechanism, which includescoin testing means, with coins of a particular denomination for beingdispensed from the mechanism, comprising adding to the mechanism asubstantially upright coin store pre-loaded to a predetermined levelwith such coins, accepting further coins of said denomination into themechanism through said coin testing means, dispensing coins from saidcoin store, and when its contents are below a lower level, directinginto the coin store at said lower level accepted coins of saiddenomination.
 12. A coin mechanism for accepting coins of a plurality ofdenominations, the coin mechanism comprising:a coin validator, a coinseparator which separates accepted coins by denomination, the coinseparator having a lower end, a cashbox, a plurality of coin tubes forat least one of the denominations which can be accepted by the coinmechanism, wherein the coin separator can direct acceptable coins to anappropriate coin tube or the cashbox, and an auxiliary coin tube forstoring coins of a particular denomination which can be accepted by thecoin mechanism, the auxiliary coin tube having an upper level above thelower end of the coin separator and a coin inlet below the upper levelof the auxiliary coin tube, wherein coins of an appropriate denominationcan be directed into the auxiliary coin tube through the coin inlet whenthe level of coins in the auxiliary coin tube is below a predeterminedlevel.